


Those Special Days of the Year

by boppgoestheweasel



Series: the dadschlatt collection [8]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Christmas, DadSchlatt, Holidays, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, New Years, Quackity is supportive, Scared Tubbo, Thanksgiving, Very domestic, karl is good with kids, maybe ooc?, no beta we die like men, rated for the swearing, sad tubbo, uncle karl??, uncle quackity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28604916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boppgoestheweasel/pseuds/boppgoestheweasel
Summary: Special days of the year... maybe they're fun, maybe they're not, but the show must go on.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Jschlatt, Alexis | Quackity & Karl Jacobs, Alexis | Quackity & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Karl Jacobs & Toby Smith | Tubbo
Series: the dadschlatt collection [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2080011
Comments: 36
Kudos: 423





	1. Bright Lights & Loud Noises

**Author's Note:**

> why hello there! this was another suggestion by Lawhiteconchita!! Some chapters are a bit long, especially this first one, but I really appreciate Mr. Karl Jacobs, and I wanted him to be in here! 
> 
> Have any requests/suggestions? Headcanons? Leave em in the comments!!
> 
> As always, these characters are based solely on those portrayed in the SMP roleplay!! If any CCs mentioned here are uncomfortable with any content I have written, it will be deleted immediately.

New Years Eve was always a fun time for Schlatt, but when he had a kid, all of that kinda went down the drain; at least the first year did.

_ “Hey man, are you having a party this year? We’ve had one since the 10th grade!”  _

_ “No.”  _

The disappointment on Quackity’s face had been only there for a single moment before it was replaced with one of understanding.

_ “Totally get it man, you just had a kid. What is it, only like a month? Not even? Take your time.” _

Quackity was incredibly supportive all the time, especially that first year. Unfortunately, Tubbo was born just a few days before the New Year, and then when he was one year old, Schlatt still didn’t think it would be a good idea, considering he was still so young. He also didn’t want people at the party (whoever that might’ve been at the time) to have to deal with Tubbo if he cried over nothing, like he sometimes used to do. Well, it wasn’t over nothing- he either saw something that scared him or Schlatt left the damn room.  _ Or  _ someone besides Schlatt or Quackity was holding him. He didn’t need someone other than him to deal with all that. And Alex totally understood. 

But  _ this year?  _ Tubbo had just turned two, and Schlatt was ready to throw a party again. They didn’t have any friends anymore- anyone who wasn’t a true friend dipped when Schlatt had a kid. Now it was just Quackity and a few other people; Schlatt knew Quackity would invite someone though. Even if it was one person, Schlatt would be fine with it. He just wanted a party, even a small one. He wanted to hang out with “the guys” again. 

_ “A party this year? That’s really cool man! Yeah, I know some people.” _

Schlatt figured he would. Things would start to return to normal finally.

The last two years were so tough. Who fucking knew how expensive baby stuff was? The stuff he couldn’t buy from thrift stores, like bottles, diapers and pacifiers, were all so damn expensive. Thankfully, Tubbo was growing out of all that stuff so things were getting easier there. He could now use sippy cups and no longer needed to suck on a pacifier all the time to keep calm; instead he sucked on his baby blanket when a pacifier wasn’t in his hands. Weird upgrade, but it was much cheaper. They’d come after taking a walk and the binky would no longer be in the child’s mouth, or a stray dog would take it from Tubbo’s mouth when he was playing outside, or some older kids around the block would snatch it from him. It was always when the man wasn’t looking, which was fucking sketchy, but anytime that happened, Tubbo needed a new one. It was one of the only things that lulled the kid into a state of content besides playing with Schlatt’s horns. The store Schlatt would go to only sold them in packs of two, so if those two were lost, it was another $10-$15 down the drain. Somehow they’ve kept the current one long enough, so luckily a trip to the store hadn’t been needed.

One thing that Tubbo would also soothe himself with was playing with random objects that jingled. Christmas time was  _ very loud.  _ One thing the child would constantly have in his hands was Quackity’s car keys. Schlatt had no idea how the toddler acquired them every damn time, but when Quackity was over they were sure enough in Tubbo’s hands. 

_ “Actually,”  _ Quackity had said one day when Tubbo found the keys in his pocket,  _ “that reminds me, I got these for you bud.” _

The young man had handed the boy a set of plastic keys. They were bright and colorful, and they looked nothing like the actual keys. But Tubbo was happy with them anyway. 

Quackity knew how to deal with Tubbo better than anyone Schlatt had ever known, even  _ himself,  _ and Schlatt was the kid’s  _ dad.  _ Alex just knew the right things to say at the right times. Tubbo fell? Not an issue, Quackity had band-aids and “feel better” kisses. Tubbo burst into tears because Schlatt left the room? “It’ll be okay, buddy, he’s just out for a moment!” as he cradled the kid in his arms. It was phenomenal, it impressed Schlatt immensely. He was never sure what he would do if Quackity wasn’t there. Not that he would tell the younger man that. Hell no. 

But Schlatt was definitely getting better. As the New Year rounded, Schlatt had taught the kid how to express a way his feelings were hurt, being him pointing to his heart. No external issues, everything was on the inside. That way, if he burst into tears and Schlatt didn’t know why and Tubbo was heaving instead of speaking, it was an easy fix. All the kid had to do if he hadn’t fallen and actually hurt something was point to his chest. Schlatt thought he was a genius for that. 

One thing was for sure, though, Quackity taught him so much about being a parent, and he was incredibly glad. So each New Years from then on, he would be celebrating it as a new year to do better with his son, and a new year to drown himself in alcohol while pretending everything was fine.

“Hey man! I got someone who could actually come. None of our other friends could make it, but Karl said he could.” 

It was the morning of New Years eve, and Quackity had come over at 8 to make the correct preparations, especially since Schlatt couldn’t cook for shit. 

“Karl? Who the fuck is Karl?” 

“Oh, he’s a pal from my college business class!” Quackity laughed, glancing at the clock. 9:45, and the kid still wasn’t awake yet. “Doesn’t Tubbo usually get up at 6?” 

“He always does, but right before you came here I found him on the floor of his room sleeping. He had those keys in his hands again.” Schlatt sighed, rubbing his face. “I’ve got some stubble on my chin, isn’t that cool?”

“Yeah, finally.” Quackity gave Schlatt a playful hit on the shoulder.

“Oh I don’t wanna fucking hear it Alex. You can’t grow facial hair at  _ all,  _ at least I’ve got a mustache.” Schlatt shoved the man. 

“Hey hey! I’m still relatively young, leave me alone.”

“Uh, your friend Karl, is he your age too?” Schlatt asked, going to wash dishes.

“He is, yeah. We’re like the youngest people in the class. You know there’s a guy who’s like 70, he looks a bit like you I think.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Schlatt hit the boy on the back of his head. Quackity laughed. 

“No but really, I talk about you and Tubbo all the time. He’s pretty excited to come.” Quackity went over to dry the dishes as Schlatt washed them and set them on the drying rack.

“What time is he coming over?”

“Dunno, like, maybe 12? I told him to bring food.” 

Schlatt scoffed. “Thank god, because you know I’ve got nothing.” 

“I didn’t mean it like that, J.”

“No really, look at the damn cupboards.”

Quackity furrowed his brows and opened the wooden cupboards like he was advised to. Sure enough all that was in there were boxes of Cheerios and unopened pickles. A few stray boxes of macaroni and cheese were thrown about and cans of beans were stacked upon each other, next to the boxes of baby food.

“Does Tubbo still eat that stuff?” Quackity took a jar from one of the boxes, inspecting it. “Gerber’s?”

“Oh, no no. That was a donation a few months ago from an organization around here. The shit in there isn’t that bad, though, so whenever we don’t have anything else Tubbo and I eat it.”

_ “You  _ eat it too?” Quackity snorted.

“Listen, when nothing else is in the house, it keeps you from starving, okay? I would just not eat but that thing in the room sleeping takes all of my energy. Even if it’s just a jar it’s enough.”

Quackity had a guilty look on his face. “Sorry about that, man. You know if you ever-”

“Don’t pull that shit on me, Alex. I don’t need your money.” Schlatt closed the cupboard that Quackity had opened. 

“I know, I know. But you know the offer is always there.”

Schlatt was genuinely grateful, but he wouldn’t let his pride fall. No, he didn’t let Quackity see the way his bottom lip quivered.

“But… does this stuff actually taste alright?” Quackity continued to look at the label on the Gerber’s jar. 

Schlatt laughed and shrugged. “I don’t know, I mean I was surprised.”

Quackity rolled his eyes and popped the jar open, grabbing a spoon from the creaky silverware drawer. Right as he stuck a spoonful in his mouth, the men heard a laugh from the other side of the house before it got closer until the thing it was coming from was standing in the kitchen in front of them.

“Ooh!” Tubbo’s hair was ridden with sleep, and you could tell the child wasn’t fully awake yet by the way he looked up and just made grabby hands at the younger man who had the food on a spoon. 

“Yeah, you better give him some of that now. He loves that shit.” Schlatt drained the sink water now that they were done with dishes. 

“It’s like he smelled it or something,” Quackity laughed. He set the jar and spoon on the counter so he could pick Tubbo up before he grabbed it again, along with an extra spoon.. He walked over to the table and sat down with Tubbo in his lap and spoon fed the food to the boy. Tubbo could feed himself, but not without it getting absolutely everywhere, so it was best that Schlatt or Quackity helped him when they were able to. 

“Yeah, enjoy your baby food, nerds. I’ve got my Cheerios.” Schlatt came up to the table with a bowl of cereal and took a seat.

“Do you want some?” Quackity pointed the spoon to Schlatt’s face and Tubbo let out a loud, goofy laugh.

“No, I’ll happily take my old man's food, thank you.” Schlatt shoved the spoon away from his face.

“Your loss, not our’s.” 

“Hey, I think your ‘pal’ Karl’s here.”

“Why do you say that?”

“There’s incessant knocking.”

Quackity got up from where he was stacking blocks with Tubbo and made his way to the door. He opened it, and sure enough, there was Karl. 

“Alex! Hey!” Karl chimed, a huge smile on his face. In his hands were big platters of food and a small box that was wrapped. Why? No one knew except Karl himself. Guess they would all find out soon enough.

“Hello hello, get in here! It’s good to see you,” Quackity smiled, taking the platters from the guy’s hands. 

“You must be Schlatt, I’ve heard a lot about you.” Karl walked over to give Schlatt a handshake. Schlatt quirked an eyebrow.

“Jesus, Alex. He’s treating me like a dad,” he laughed.

“Well, you are, aren’t you?” Quackity replied from the kitchen.

“The duck has a point,” Schlatt rolled his eyes. “To that.”

Karl turned in the direction that Schlatt was pointing, and his eyes lit up at the sight of the small child. Tubbo’s eyes grew wide when he finally looked up to see the young man looking at him.

“I actually have something for you! I hear you like things that make noises,” Karl said, walking over to the platters that Quackity had set down on the table.

“I swear to god, if it’s something with bells-”

“No no,” Karl laughed. “You probably get enough of that in December. Here bud.” Karl set down the box next to where Tubbo was sitting on the floor. The boy inspected the box before he looked up at Karl again. “Open it!”

Tubbo tore into the paper, a wide smile on his face.

“I missed his birthday.” Karl turned to Schlatt.

“What? You didn’t even know much about him then.” 

“Still, I’m here now, aren’t I?”

Schlatt hummed. Quackity was great, so why wouldn’t his friends be too?

Tubbo held up a very colorful plush block. Each side of it was painted with a different small animal, and every side was colored differently as well. On the bottom of it, there was a thing that you could pull- the kid pulled it and the soft cube started to buzz and vibrate. Tubbo squealed loudly, and he squeezed the contraption, and when he did, it made a crinkling noise. This caused him to laugh some more.

“That-”

“Pretty cool, huh?” Karl shrugged, smiling. “I might’ve taken a few extracurriculars alongside business class. I was in college, so why not take some fun classes?”

“You… you made that?” Schlatt kept his eyes on the toy that Tubbo continued to play with.

“I did! Just a fun hobby that I do, toy making and robotics.” Karl smiled widely. “I’m just glad he likes it.” 

Schlatt nodded. “Oh for sure. That kid loves anything that makes noise.” 

Karl gave a small chuckle. “Toddlers do. At least from what I’ve heard.”

Schlatt hummed and gave Karl a pat on the shoulder. “Well it’s cool that you could come. It would be stupid if it was just me and Quackity. Then it would be like every other boring ass day.”

“Hey!” Quackity hollered from the kitchen.

“Anyway, make yourself at home. If the child grabs at your pant legs don’t be alarmed, he just wants something like… like an olive.” 

Karl nodded with a laugh and sat down next to Tubbo. He knew the kid was grateful, but considering he was just two years old he wouldn’t be able to say “thank you.” But he could tell by the wide smile on the boy’s face.

Schlatt walked over to the table and looked at the platters that Karl had brought. This would be enough food for days for Karl! Schlatt should invest in getting some; they would last a long time if he spaced it out right. There was an array of veggies and crackers and cheeses- in different platters of course. You had one with vegetables and the other with savory foods; it was all fresh too. Not like the shit you would find at the supermarket down the street.

“Thanks for bringing the food, Karl. We appreciate it,” Quackity said, giving Schlatt a glance. The younger man knew the ram-hybrid was thankful but he also knew he was very bad at voicing his feelings. Schlatt’s mouth quirked up a bit.

“Oh sure, I just brought what I think would be cool at parties. I wasn’t sure how much food a two year old could eat, I hope this is all okay.” Karl smiled from the living room as he ruffled Tubbo’s hair.

“Hell, that kid eats anything I give him. Plus he has all his teeth, I hope he would be able to eat anything.” Schlatt bit off a chunk of celery. Karl knew shit about kids, he deducted. Then again, before Schlatt had a kid he didn’t know anything either. 

“Oh, good. You want some snacks lil guy?” Karl bent down when he stood up and picked Tubbo up from the floor. The kid still had the plush square in his hands. Tubbo nodded and Karl took him to the table. 

Several hours passed, and the group had just been playing games all night, eating from the food platters and drinking the juice that Schlatt had for Tubbo. Schlatt hadn’t had a drink all day and it had been wearing on him the whole time, but he didn’t need Karl to judge his actions, even though the younger man probably wouldn’t. Well, that and Tubbo was always around him. But now it seemed that Tubbo was rather accustomed to Karl; the toddler was always in the guy’s lap, or in his arms, or just next to him. During their game of Monopoly Tubbo had sat in Karl’s lap while eating carrots. So every now and then Schlatt would sneak a drink from the kitchen. It was rather nice to have a break, and he was sure Quackity felt the same way too. Maybe Karl was a potential babysitter.

Soon enough it was time to get ready for the big hour. Every year next to Schlatt’s shitty walls that he called a house, there were fireworks, but the past two times the man wasn’t able to see them because he was inside with Tubbo. But now that a small party was actually going on, Schlatt told the guys to take a lawn chair and set it up outside so they could all watch the firework show.

Once all the chairs and snacks were set up, all they had to do was wait now. 

3…

2…

1…

**BOOM!!**

**CRACK!!**

**BOOM BOOM!!!**

A series of loud noises cracked off in the sky as bright colors filled the clouds. The men watched with wide eyes and small smiles. But as the loud noises continued, a certain small person was getting extremely overwhelmed in Karl’s lap. 

Tubbo started wailing, and he sped to Schlatt’s side as fast as he could. The men were pulled from their daze and all eyes were on the toddler as Schlatt picked him up, concern littering his features. 

“Tubbo? What’s-”

**CRASH!!**

Tubbo screamed again, burying his face in his dad’s sweater. The boy was shaking as sobs racked his body. His face was blotchy and his grip on Schlatt’s sweater was one of death. The men all looked to each other before another loud crash filled the atmosphere, sending Tubbo into another screaming fit. They all stood up promptly and ran inside, abandoning their lawn chairs. If they got stolen, Schlatt thought, then someone obviously needed them more than he did.

“Tubbo, Tubbo, what’s wrong bud?” Schlatt asked, setting Tubbo down on the couch as he knelt in front of him. Quackity and Karl sat on either side of the crying boy.

Tubbo wouldn’t speak though, no. Sobs just kept falling from his mouth as tears tumbled down his red cheeks. The kid was going to make himself sick if he didn’t calm down soon enough. 

“The uh, the fireworks? The loud noises? Did those scare you?” Schlatt asked, his brows furrowed, pressed into his skin.

Tubbo nodded and wiped at his face. Collectively, the three men went “Ohhh.”

“Hey, that’s okay!” Quackity vocalized. “Those were just for fun. Didn’t you see the pretty lights?” 

Tubbo shook his head. 

“Those were called fireworks. They go up in the sky and blow up for fun! It’s not scary, they aren’t there to hurt you.” Quackity soothed, patting Tubbo’s head. 

“Uh, yeah! Do you want to see the pretty lights?” Karl played off of Quackity’s notations. 

Tubbo looked from Karl, to Quackity, to Schlatt. Schlatt was too busy processing the way the two younger men just helped him.  _ Thanks.  _

Tubbo nodded, making grabby hands at Karl. The kid was picked up, and the two other men followed Karl out the door to where they had been sitting before. 

“Okay, now don’t be scared. There’s going to be another one in a little while, and I’ll be here if you’re afraid, okay? Your dad’s here too, and so is Quackity. We’ve got you.”

That was nice of Karl to throw him in there, Schlatt thought. Because he really was there, he cared about Tubbo and the way he felt. He didn’t want his kid to be scared. And if he was, they needed to fix it right away, which is what they were trying to do exactly. 

Sure enough, another explosion went off in the sky, and Tubbo stuffed his face in the crook of Karl’s neck where his turtleneck hoodie would keep him safe. 

“Gosh, you’re gonna miss all the lights! But now that you’re used to the noise, do you want to try and see them again?” Karl asked, looking at the small ram boy in his arms.

Tubbo thought for a moment before nodding. Obviously the three of them would never make the child do something he didn’t want to. In fact, Schlatt and Quackity were literally on stand-by in case they needed to slam the door open. 

“Okay, look up at the sky.” 

Tubbo did as instructed and looked up at the starry night sky. Honestly, it was a wonder how the kid even stayed awake all this time, even if he was definitely awake now. He didn’t pass out  _ once  _ the whole night. Sure, he looked a little wiped out, but other than that the boy was completely coherent.

Suddenly, a bright flash filled the sky, and it was completed with small sprinkles of light fluttering down and disappearing entirely. Tubbo screamed, and all the men thought they were going to have to deal with another fit, but when they all took a look at him, Tubbo was smiling widely, and he was clapping his hands excitedly. 

“Again!” Tubbo shouted. “Again, again!” 

Karl smiled and pointed up to the sky; another crackle went off and sent colors soaring through the air. Tubbo was screeching, just being absolutely obnoxious, but the three of them didn’t care. No, they just laughed. 

After a few more minutes, the fireworks were over and they all went inside. Tubbo looked completely tuckered out, and when Karl set him on the couch, the boy fell over and just stayed there. Quackity laughed.

“You think he’s deaf now? Those were pretty loud.” 

“Nah, he’s just fine.” Schlatt walked into the kitchen and leaned on a counter. “Damn, I missed doing that.”

“Yeah, fireworks are always neat,” Karl said, smiling. 

“Uh, yeah. Thanks to you, now my son thinks so too. Now he won’t stop talking about them.” Schlatt rolled his eyes; he was really thankful, but it’s not like he would just say that. Time and time again, Schlatt bit his tongue. 

“Sure sure, it’ll be great.” Karl laughed. “Well now he’s sleeping, so you’re fine for the time being.” 

Quackity was putting the lids back on top of the party platters. “Karl, I can help you take these out to your car if you’d like so when you leave tomorrow-”

“Huh? Oh, no, don’t worry about that. I’ll just leave them here.” Karl said quickly, waving Quackity off. “Stick em in the fridge or wherever Schlatt keeps his cold things.”

“Why the hell wouldn’t it be in the fridge?” Schlatt teased. 

“Hey, some people keep them out in garages, I don’t know!” Karl chortled, shrugging. 

Karl was letting Schlatt keep the platters? There was still so much food left… that was nice of him to do. Schlatt couldn’t help but wonder if Karl had accidentally gone through the fridge or the cabinets to see that Schlatt barely had anything. That would explain it. Or maybe Karl was just nice. He didn’t know. Either way, he didn’t mind Karl. No, he didn’t mind Karl at all.

“Guess the kid took the couch?” Quackity called, and Karl and Schlatt came into the living room.

“I suppose,” Schlatt sighed. “Get your shit, boys. We’re sleeping on the floor. Unless one of you wants his crib.”

They laughed and got their things that they brought over while Schlatt set up his own bedding, giving Tubbo an extra blanket. Even though the party was just him, his kid, his friend, and his friend’s friend who is now his friend, it was rather fun. He would definitely do it again, and Karl coming over more was definitely something to look into, especially since Tubbo liked him so much. 


	2. Sad and Burnt (Out)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Thanksgiving disaster... what more is there to say? But this time, featuring Karl!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any requests/suggestions for my next work? Leave them in the comments! <3

Schlatt never cared for Thanksgiving.

Not one bit.

It was never a big thing in his family, though they did have a family meal, he supposed. The whole “family coming over on one specific day because they’re obligated to” thing wasn’t really one he enjoyed. It was so pointless- especially to those who don’t have extended family or can’t go anywhere. Just a holiday some colonizers made up because they thought it would be fun. 

As a kid, it never was. His grandma would always be sleeping through dinner, his grandfather would be yelling at his dad for something. His siblings and him would quietly pick at the undercooked food that his aunt made. It was always a mess, especially with the cousins over. Always running, never sitting, always going through Schlatt’s things. Something of his would always be gone after each holiday. He stopped getting attached to items after that; there was no use anyway. Just stuff. Nothing was really  _ his  _ anyway in his house.

You see those Thanksgiving commercials on TV of the big happy families, passing around mashed potatoes and gravy, saying “please” and “thank you.” Holidays are never really like that. They’re just days that older people came over to see how much you’ve grown and what “bad thing” they can point out about you. Extra points if you can name more than one thing! Schlatt  _ despised  _ those days. 

_ “Wow, your horns sure are big, J! Better slow down your growth, or they’ll be too big for you to handle!” _

That’s exactly what happened too. They pretty much predicted his bullying- they were his  _ first  _ bullies. 

The only thing Schlatt liked about Thanksgiving growing up was the silence that followed once every single person was gone and he was left alone to clean the dishes with his sister. There was just a quiet moment of sympathy between them.  _ Did they hurt you? Are you okay?  _ All exchanged between glances. It was Schlatt’s favorite part, the serenity. No obnoxious grandmothers yelling across the house. No babies crying. Just silence and soapy dishes. 

At least that’s how it was when he was a kid. 

Ever since Schlatt moved out, he never went to his family’s house for Thanksgiving. Why would he? He had one of his own. Well, sorta. 

As he got his two year old ready the morning of, Schlatt really thought about what Thanksgiving was like these days.

The Thanksgiving before Tubbo was born was the one where he and Quackity just spent it together. It was filled with laughs, wine coolers, and shitty movies. Right after dinner, they had gone out to get a Christmas tree from the tree lot near Quackity’s house. They stumbled in the snow, being stupid teenagers all the way there. Shoving each other with dumb fucking smiles on their faces. That was the first Thanksgiving Schlatt ever enjoyed. It was simple and fun; no one made fun of him. No one asked him if he had a girlfriend, no one asked him if he was happy at his job. No one besides Quackity was there with him, and it was very nice. 

The Thanksgiving after that one, before Tubbo turned one, Quackity came over again, and his mom had come that year, much to Schlatt’s happiness. He loved that woman like she was his own mother. She showed the boys tricks on what to do with a baby who wouldn’t stop crying, she showed them how to swaddle a baby, showed them how to hold a baby properly, since apparently neither of them had been doing it right. After that night, Quackity stayed the night since they were at his house that year (the first year in the shitty house, actually), and his mom went back to his place, since she was in town only visiting. The rest of the night they were taking turns sleeping, bargaining who got to rest while the other fed or changed Tubbo. It was bad, but looking back at it, Schlatt was just glad to have Quackity there. They were like co-dads. 

The next Thanksgiving, which brings us to today, Tubbo was two. After New Years that year, Schlatt wanted Quackity’s friend Karl over much more. Not only was Karl good with Tubbo, but he was also just a great guy. Figures, since Quackity was fond of him as well. Any friend of Alex’s was a friend to keep. Schlatt didn’t think so highly of himself, but definitely of every other friend of Alex’s.

“We’re gonna have some fun this year, Tubbo,” Schlatt spoke as he snapped the boy’s overalls on. “Uncle Quackity’s coming over with his friend Karl again. You remember Karl?”

Tubbo shook his head as he crinkled the plush box that said man had given to him. 

“Oh, you will, you will.” Schlatt pat the kid on the head before he lifted him up into his arms. “We have that turkey to get going, but first I’ll get you some food.”

He walked down the hall with Tubbo in tow, and he set him on a chair before going into the kitchen. The cupboards were actually bustling this time; he had just gone shopping a few days ago with Karl and Quackity. He was pretty sure the younger men snuck some of the food they bought into his cupboards when he wasn’t looking, but he never commented on it, mostly because he was three days too late. 

He got Tubbo some dry cereal and set it before the boy, who immediately dipped his hand in the bowl the second it was set down. Schlatt looked at the clock- 6:30 now. Tubbo had gotten up at 6 that morning, as per usual, which was good, because Schlatt needed to get the turkey in the oven before it was too late. 

Tubbo waking Schlatt up in the morning wasn’t the best thing in the world- it was far from it. Schlatt woke up every morning at 6 to little hands patting him on his scruffy face as the boy before him repeated “Papa!”. Considering he slept on the couch, it wasn’t like he could just tell Tubbo to play and shut the door. The boy always brought his toys out to the living room to play with, and he definitely was  _ not  _ quiet, making it impossible for Schlatt to sleep. Luckily though, he had Thanksgiving night off, so he wasn’t worried that morning about his interrupted sleep.

Once the turkey was prepped and in the oven, he made his way to the house phone, but then hesitated, remembering that it was literally 6 in the damn morning. Quackity wouldn’t be up right now, what was he thinking? So instead, he grabbed some coffee and sat down at the table, relaxing a bit as his toddler hummed around the cereal in his mouth.

Later in the day, the house was starting to really smell good; it almost made Schlatt nostalgic, even if the childhood scent he was remembering wasn’t from a fond time. He was glad he started doing Thanksgiving his own way, though if Quackity hadn’t started the tradition by inviting him over that one year he was sure that he wouldn’t be getting ready to have a small feast at the moment.

Thankfully, Schlatt did in fact know how to make some food, but when Quackity came over, the game was really stepped up. Quackity was such a good cook; he could cook literally anything. His mother was a great cook too, she was the head chef at a restaurant back in El Rapids where Quackity grew up. Small, quaint town. Schlatt always wanted to visit. But that explained why Quackity was an excellent chef- it’s because his mom was one.

“Hey- oh, wow, it sure does smell nice in here. Did you hire a cook while I wasn’t here?” Quackity stuck his nose in the air as he walked into the home. Tubbo waddled up to the young man excitedly, and Quackity lifted the boy into his arms.

“Ha ha, hilarious.” Schlatt shut the door behind him, keeping the late November breeze out. “Turkey is the one thing I can actually cook. I also started to boil eggs.” 

Quackity smelt around again, and he crinkled his nose when he smelt the faint scent of alcohol on Schlatt.

“Are you feeling okay, man?” Quackity asked- it was his way of ensuring Schlatt’s mental state without blatantly asking him if he felt like shit, or if he was in the wrong headspace to be doing things that day. 

“Oh,” Schlatt hadn’t expected Quackity to ask. Then again, he did smell like alcohol at 1 in the afternoon before an event, so he supposed it was only necessary for the younger man to ask such a thing. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine.”

In reality, Schlatt was not fine. He was so tired, even if he did know that he could potentially get a full night’s sleep that night. The last few days, though, he’d been having to work 8 hour shifts to make up for his time off on Thanksgiving, so when he would get home, Tubbo would just wake up, and he didn’t get to sleep at all. Tubbo needed a bath, to get ready, and to eat. He couldn’t just lay on the couch and sleep, letting the kid fend for himself. The small boy could  _ just barely  _ reach the doorknobs in the house. For whatever reason, the doorknobs were placed too high for Schlatt’s liking- such a weird interior design.

But alcohol was the only thing that kept Schlatt feeling alive for the past few days. 

“Well, alright. I have some things in the car, and Karl is gonna bring some stuff too.” Quackity spoke as Tubbo was reaching for the young man’s duck wings that were sprouted from his back. Whenever Schlatt and Quackity went to do laundry together, it was so easy to tell who’s clothes were who’s because Schlatt’s pants had a hole in the back for his tail, and Quackity’s shirts and sweaters had two holes in the back where his wings would poke through. 

Quackity set Tubbo back on the ground and the boy went back to his spot on the living room floor. Schlatt accompanied Alex to walk outside and grab the things he mentioned before from the car, when a small, beat up car pulled up to the small driveway. 

“Oh, hey Karl!” Quackity waved before Karl even got out of the car.

Karl’s mouth moved, but neither of them could hear him. He finally shut off the car and stepped out.

“Hey guys! Realized you couldn’t hear me in the car,” Karl chuckled. 

“Yeah, you were a bit muffled there, guy.” Schlatt was looking the car over. Bits and parts of the car were different colors- replacements over replacements. The car was an array of brown, white, black and grey. “That… that is a piece of work there, Karl.”

“Oh, my car? Yeah, I patched it up more than once. I found an old car body at a dump site, and it was missing too much. A little while later, though, I fixed up an engine I found. Made my own adjustments to it, you know, just for fun. Finding car scraps is definitely an all day event.”

Schlatt’s eyes were wide as the man went on. He talked about it so…  _ nonchalantly.  _ Like it was absolutely nothing. Like if anyone could do it.

“What-” Schlatt shook his head. “What?”

“Yeah, just another hobby of mine. Taking extracurriculars are rather useful.” Karl shrugged. Again, nonchalantly. Schlatt scoffed. 

“Is there anything you  _ can’t do?”  _ Schlatt teased.

“Oh, cmon now, there’s a bunch of stuff I’m unable to do. I can’t build an airplane! Though I’ve always wanted to.” 

“I’m pretty sure that no one can build an airplane besides professionals.” Schlatt loaded the things from Quackity’s car in his arms.

Karl just laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Schlatt, can you get the door for me?” Quackity asked, and Schlatt took what he could manage in his arms and opened the door for the three of them once Karl got whatever he brought. 

Tubbo was standing at the door, waiting for them it seemed. As Schlatt walked by the boy he ruffled his hair, and when Karl made his way inside, Tubbo’s eyes screamed with remembrance. 

“Wait wait!” Karl could already tell the boy was about to lunge at him. “Let me put this stuff down big guy!”

Once the food was on the table, Tubbo wasted no time at all to run to Karl as fast as possible. Karl grabbed the toddler and pulled him into a hug. Tubbo was laughing as Karl pretended that Tubbo was squeezing too hard. 

“Wow, you’ve gotten so much stronger!” Karl feigned a cough. Schlatt rolled his eyes as he stood next to Quackity in the kitchen. He took a sip of his whiskey. Yeah right, a two year old was soooo strong. Quackity laughed at the implication of Schlatt’s dramatic eye roll.

“You’re such a teenager, Schlatt. Tubbo seems to like it.” Alex flicked his gaze over to the duo; Karl was swaying Tubbo back and forth in his arms, and the boy was squealing and screaming. 

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Schlatt pretended to not care, but in reality, he really did. He was a bit jealous of Karl, even if he didn’t know he was. Schlatt was too weak to pick Tubbo up and sway him like that. He couldn’t wrestle with him, he couldn’t roughhouse, or throw him around playfully. He was too tired, and he felt terrible about it. He appreciated the fact that Karl and Quackity could play with Tubbo though, he really did. He just wished he could do it himself. Then again, that’s what friends were for, right? To help in the places he needed, even if he didn’t  _ want  _ help.

“Right Schlatt?”

“Huh?” Schlatt was pulled from his thoughts as Quackity placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“The turkey’s coming along great?” He asked again, concern lacing his features a bit.

“Oh, uh, yeah yeah. Just fine.” Schlatt blinked, shaking his head. 

“Hey… are you really doing okay? Do you want to maybe lay down? Karl and I can watch Tubbo for you.” Quackity asked softly. 

“I don’t know about all that,” Schlatt replied. “We’re supposed to all be together today, right? I don’t want to be the lazy fuck that goes to sleep during Thanksgiving. I’d be just as bad as my aunts and uncles and grandparents.”

Quackity laughed. “No no, it’s not like that. You just… don’t look the greatest man, no offense.” 

“None taken.” Schlatt dragged his hand down his face. “I just… I don’t know. You guys shouldn’t have to-”

Schlatt stopped talking when he saw Quackity’s expression. His eyes were pointed directly into the ram’s, and everything about it was serious. He wasn’t kidding- it was more of a demand than anything.

“Fine, okay, if you insist. But if I wake up and my kid is fucking dead? It’s your asses.” Schlatt stuck a finger to the duck-hybrid’s chest.

Schlatt walked down the hall with his whiskey glass, but Quackity came up behind him and took the glass from his hands and walked away briskly. The man sighed and continued to Tubbo’s room- it was the only room in the house, but he figured he would just lay down on the floor and sleep for just a little while. So he situated himself on the carpet and let his eyes close for the first time in what seemed like forever.

Schlatt’s eyes popped open to the smell of all sorts of Thanksgiving food. There was that nostalgia again, smacking him in the face. He almost forgot where he was, but when he looked around his son’s room, he remembered that he had passed out on the floor to get some rest. Oh… oh yeah. Wait- he was smelling food?

How long was he asleep for?

A panic rose in his chest as he sat up; he fixed his shirt collar and didn’t even bother to mess with his hair. He figured no one would really care how he looked. Either way, his hair was rather messy all the time. His heart rate skyrocketed as he made his way off the floor and he checked his wrist- there was no watch. There was one window in Tubbo’s room, but it had been boarded up since some fuckers had been popping up in the window when Tubbo was a baby. 

Schlatt stumbled to open the door, and he practically fell on the floor in the hallway as he made his way to the living room. No one was in there. He was starting to sweat- did everyone leave already? Was it over? Did he sleep all through Thanksgiving? It was supposed to be fun, it was supposed to be unlike the ones in his childhood. It was-

“Hey, J! Just in time. I was about to send the gremlin in to wake you up!” 

Schlatt whipped his head to see Quackity, Karl and Tubbo sitting at the dining table in the kitchen. His expression relaxed, and he allowed himself to breathe properly. Everyone had a smile on their faces, and food was set out on the table. All of it. It looked great, with the candles and everything.

“Papa!” Tubbo called, throwing his hands up in the air. He had a different outfit on now- when had they put him in a sweater and boots? Maybe the sweater was over his overalls?

“Uh, hey guys. What time is it?” Schlatt asked, looking around for the clock- that’s right. The clock was broken because it was knocked to the floor when he and Quackity were roughhousing one day, throwing pillows about with Tubbo. 

“7. Well, 7:13, if you wanna be technical,” Karl spoke, pulling a chair out for Schlatt.

“Fucking- 7:13?” Schlatt rubbed his eyes. “Why didn’t you morons wake me up?” 

“Dude, you looked like shit. We just wanted to let you sleep as long as you wanted.” Quackity shrugged as he took Tubbo’s hand away from almost being dipped in the gravy.

Schlatt shook his head and took a seat. The turkey looked a bit… different. Not like how he had intended it to look. 

“When did you take the bird out, Alex?” 

“Uhhh-”

Schlatt narrowed his eyes and he cut into the turkey- smoke rose from it and it made the saddest sound anyone had ever heard. Tubbo watched as his dad coughed and sputtered. 

“Yeah. Yeah definitely not early enough.” Quackity cringed, shrinking into his seat. 

The three young men stared at the turkey in disbelief; Schlatt felt like bursting into tears. It was smelling so good all day, but his dumbass went and took a fucking nap on the job. None of this was Karl or Quackity’s fault, and he hoped they knew it wasn’t. They had the job of caring for Tubbo while Schlatt slacked off, and they did exactly that.  _ He  _ was in charge of the turkey.

Suddenly, the toddler that was sitting at the table started laughing loudly, almost to the point of crying. The men looked to the boy- he was hysterical! His hands were up to his face and his eyes were little slits on his face as he cried laughing. Quackity was the second to start laughing, and then Karl, and finally Schlatt burst into laughter, not tears.

What was so funny? None of them were sure, but it was mostly because Tubbo had just started abruptly laughing. Did the silence make the child laugh? Was it the puff of smoke from the turkey? Was it the men’s faces? They didn’t know, but the walls laughed along as the four sitting at the table were near tears.

“Dammit man, really thought it was gonna be the best this year.” Schlatt said, calming down from the laughing fit as everyone else did as well.

“Oh, that’s alright. Food is… food. Better to be overdone than underdone, right?” Karl suggested. 

The house was quiet again and Schlatt let the guilt overtake him once more as he cut bits of the turkey and put them on his kid’s plate. This shit was like straw; it would probably get stuck in Tubbo’s throat, causing him to choke and die. 

Apparently, though, Tubbo didn’t see the difference between a good turkey and a burnt turkey, so he just started picking it up and eating it without a problem. Sure, he coughed a few times, but his feet were swinging where they were dangling, and that meant he liked it. Well, his feet swung all the time at dinner, but Schlatt was just sure Tubbo was a happy kid. Thankfully for him. 

Dinner was quiet, none of them daring to say anything, until Quackity recognized the look of guilt on the ram’s face. He spoke up.

“Hey uh, who cares if the turkey sucks ass?” He sputtered, taking a sip of the apple cider he held in his hand- straight from the bottle. “We still had a whole dinner, right gang?”

Karl nodded fervently, and Schlatt looked up at Quackity, raising a brow.

“Sure, this old man needed a break, so we gave him one, and we fucked up on the turkey. Big deal? Turkey isn’t even that good, even when it  _ is  _ cooked just right. It’s dry as shit, and it’s bland! This just gives us the opportunity to pay attention to all the goods, like yams and cranberry sauce.”

Karl whooped and clapped, and Tubbo joined in. It was so overdramatic, Schlatt knew, for the duck-hybrid to give a “speech”, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling just a bit. 

“Besides, we all know the fun starts  _ after  _ Thanksgiving. Tree shopping!” Quackity threw his hands around as he spoke. 

“Yeah, you’re definitely right there! Cmon, when we’re done, we can all pick out a tree,” Karl said, smiling to Schlatt.

Schlatt had no idea how he had managed to get such good friends. Why did Quackity ever start hanging out with him in the first place? Maybe it was because Quackity saw potential in Schlatt, just like Schlatt saw potential in him. 

Once dinner was over, Schlatt cleaned Tubbo up (who had somehow managed to get mashed potatoes in his damn hair), and he swaddled the toddler up in a coat to keep him warm; the men did the same for themselves. They all got into Karl’s car, not bothering with a carseat since they were young and stupid and the tree lot was just a few blocks away, and they went off to find a tree. 

The rest of the night was better than dinner had been. Overall, Schlatt was satisfied with the events of this year’s Thanksgiving. Even if he was burnt out as hell, just like that turkey. 


	3. Broke(n) on Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quackity won't let Schlatt stay alone with his thoughts on Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might be a bit cheesy, sorry about that lol. It's rather domestic, but I just hope you like it!

Ah yes. Christmas. The most magical holiday of the year for those who celebrated it.

Well, it was supposed to be.

Schlatt’s family was never keen on Christmas, no. Christmas was always so bleak for Schlatt growing up, just like Thanksgiving. Just another dinner where family members would point out the features of his that were most prominent; ie: his horns. 

When he got older, he started going to Quackity’s house for Christmas. He never expected to get any presents of course, but something was always wrapped under the tree for him throughout high school, along with cookies for breakfast. 

His family didn’t miss him on the holiday. He was sure they were rather relieved; just one less kid to wake up sad that they didn’t get anything. No, Schlatt was never sad, not disappointed- mostly because every single year was the same. It never changed. His parents just didn’t care, it wasn’t a matter of money at all. 

But this year, Tubbo had just turned 3, and… money was  _ definitely  _ an issue. And Schlatt felt like shit for it.

Their cupboards were once again empty; only the Gerber’s baby food stood as a tyrant on the shelves, never ceasing to be gone. That was a good thing though, because as long as those boxes had something in them, that meant Tubbo had something to eat, and whether Schlatt did or not didn’t matter. He would be fine no matter what- that was his thought process, at least.

Anyone could look at the man on the street, walking with his toddler, and think that he was perfectly fine. He wore sweaters and jeans with boots, and when the sun was out, sunglasses were covering his eyes. He never wore t-shirts or jeans, and this was because he didn’t want anyone to know the truth, to pity him. 

Quackity knew what was underneath Schlatt’s shirts, though. Not in a creepy or gross way- no. Quackity was over at least 95% of the time, especially for the nights, and when Schlatt would change, he never missed the way he could see Schlatt’s rib cage and tired arms. The man looked terrible, but nothing was ever said, because Schlatt wouldn’t accept help from Quackity. He wouldn’t let himself. That didn’t stop Quackity from placing food in their house every now and then, though, or leaving around tufts of cash in the couch cushions before he left. He had to do  _ something.  _ He couldn’t just sit by and watch Schlatt practically die. It’s not like the man was trying to.

Tubbo, on the other hand, was thankfully very healthy. Schlatt gave the kid vitamins, he made sure he ate all the food he wanted to- Schlatt never said no to Tubbo if he asked for more food, no matter what. He would give him his own portions if he had to. Tubbo was a growing boy, he needed food much more than Schlatt, a grown man, did. Schlatt hadn’t bought alcohol in a while either. He still had a few bottles left, but he really couldn’t buy anymore, so he had to make these ones last. 

Not only was Schlatt unable to buy food for him and Tubbo as much as he wanted, he definitely wasn’t able to do anything for Christmas.

Of course, they had a tree, they decorated it with the help of Karl and Quackity, but other than that and a wreath, Schlatt couldn’t do anything. No fancy candy for Tubbo, no stockings, no fun foods, and certainly no turkey. It was Christmas eve, and shit was looking terribly bleak. He hated it, he hated how he had nothing to give his son, or his friends. He felt so much internal conflict.

He  _ tried  _ not to care, but he really,  _ really did.  _ He was hoping to get Quackity something,  _ anything,  _ but if he wasn’t able to get Quackity anything nice and new, he didn’t want to get him anything at all. How embarrassing, to give your friend something that someone else probably had as a gift? That’s just how Schlatt thought though, Quackity had said a billion times that anything would be lovely. But Schlatt thought Quackity deserved so much better than whatever Schlatt could give him. 

But just as Schlatt was about to give up all hope as he sat at the table with Tubbo that morning eating breakfast, the house phone rang. He sighed and pat Tubbo on the head before he answered it. 

“Hello?”

“J! Get the fuck over here. You’re gonna come to my mom’s place for Christmas!” It was Quackity, of course. Schlatt blinked, holding the phone to his face.

“What?”

“Roadtrip man! I’m not doing anything, you’re not doing anything, and Karl is definitely not doing anything. So I figured, hey, my mom’s not doing anything, so why not go to her place? She always has the coolest dinners, and her tree is  _ massive!  _ Tubbo would like it a lot.” Quackity enthused, speaking quickly.

“Uhh,” Schlatt hesitated. His friends would be there, and he had nothing for either of them, he didn’t even have anything for his son. If Tubbo got his hopes up about Christmas and what it was supposed to entail… “I don’t know, Alex. Your mom doesn’t want my dumbass there.”

“Nooo man, cmon! I already talked to her! You know how fucking ginormous her house is! It’s massive! I mean… you and I might have to share a room, but-”

“Two floors and you and I still have to share a room?” Schlatt deadpanned. 

“She uh, has a lot of offices. Different jobs, different rooms to do them in, I guess.”

Schlatt was silent. 

“Puh-leeeease, J! It would be so wicked, a whole ass car trip! We can rent a van and make Tubbo a play space in the back!” 

“That’s so unsafe,” Schlatt rolled his eyes.

“So? Cmon man, cmon.”

Schlatt looked back at Tubbo, who was dipping his fingers in the leftover milk from his cereal. He sighed.

“Yeah, okay. Beats staying here for the day.”

“Nice! Okay, get your shit together. I’ll be there at 7. Karl’s already here.” 

“What-” Schlatt looked at the clock. It was 6:50. “Ten m-”

The line went dead. 

Though he didn’t want to admit it, a very excited feeling rose in his chest. He would be going back to how Christmases used to be- the very same house. Same giant tree, same lovely woman. Tubbo would love it there. 

“Okay Tubbo, I guess we’ve gotta get our stuff together.”

They’d been in the rental car for an hour now, at least in total. They had stopped at a store to get some snacks for the road and some things for Tubbo to keep him entertained in the back, and  _ then  _ stopped to get gas and a car wash, because the outside of the van was disgusting, and the fuel tank looked like it hadn’t been touched in ages. No one talked about the low humming that the car constantly made as they drove, either, or how the windshield wipers didn’t work for shit. 

The distance from L'manberg to El Rapids was approximately six hours, and each of them took turns sitting in the back with Tubbo, stretching and all that. Tubbo was rather quiet the whole time, and when they would stop at rest areas, Schlatt put the boy on the leash/backpack and let him run around. The boy was like a damn dog; Schlatt even had to pull him away from other people.

They got there around 2:30, and Quackity’s mom was outside to greet all of them. 

She had gasped when she saw Schlatt- it had been a little while. He grabbed his face and turned it side to side, muttering something about how he looked sickly. She gave him a kiss on the cheek along with a hug after she scanned him over. Tubbo was hidden behind Schlatt’s legs, looking up at the friendly woman. She bent down and held out a small piece of candy that she pulled out of her pocket. Ah, she didn’t change a bit, Schlatt thought. Tubbo accepted the candy and smiled at her. 

The woman had never met Karl before, but she still went in for a hug like she did to every stranger she greeted. Quackity introduced Karl, and as they talked, Schlatt and Quackity brought the luggage inside. 

The house was exactly how Schlatt remembered it- same exact furniture, same exact tree, same exact decorations, save a few new things. When he felt himself getting emotional, he cleared his throat, turning to Quackity.

“Hey, remember how we used to do this?” Schlatt spoke before he lunged toward the couch, toppling over it and landing on the cushions. “Your mom would always get so pissed. You think she still cares?”

“Yes, I know she does. She would be yelling at you right now.” Quackity shook his head, looking around. “She never changes this place.”

Tubbo was looking around as well, but when he saw his dad jump over the couch, he started to run towards it as well, but Quackity grabbed him and lifted him in the air. The boy whined, but Quackity kept his hold. 

“Yeah, we don’t need you getting hurt, pal. Your dad isn’t the brightest,” Quackity told Tubbo. The child huffed, but he clung onto Quackity as he hesitantly looked over the house.

After a little while, Quackity’s mom and Karl came in. Miss Mom, as Karl started to call her, showed everyone to their rooms upstairs. Of course, Schlatt and Quackity would be staying in Quackity’s old room- there was a big mattress on the ground that could fit him and his kid, too. Schlatt smiled at the fact Miss Mom thought about the both of them.

Karl was to be situated in the guest room directly across the hall from their room. The guest bed was made up, and small, Spanish inspirational posters were hung around the room. 

She let everyone get situated and left to go downstairs to make pie, or something. Schlatt’s Spanish still wasn’t that great, but he knew she was making some kind of sweet dessert.

Schlatt walked around the room, inspecting to see if everything was exactly how he had remembered it, and sure enough, it was. Quackity’s banners, his signed band posters, and the calendar from the last year he was in the house was still hung up. Schlatt felt a pain in his heart as he looked at the pictures of him and Quackity from high school. In some, they were posing with their old friends, like Wilbur Soot. He often thought about where Wilbur went, how he was doing. They never necessarily had a falling out, but Wilbur was accepted into a college and left. Schlatt didn’t blame him, of course, he would’ve done the same thing. 

Scanning the wall, he lived through a bunch of old memories that he hadn’t thought about in  _ years.  _ One picture was of him and Quackity from the 9th grade- well, Quackity was in 8th; they were laughing, and Quackity had a duck in his hand. The duck had been following Alex around for a long time, and it kept quacking at him. That was the day Schlatt and his friends gave Alex the nickname Quackity. However, it was quickly turned into a name of malice for some, because when Alex started sprouting his duck wings, it was obvious why the duck had been following him. People started calling him the name in a teasing way, and Schlatt forever felt terrible for it. As the memory got sad, he shook it away. Growing up a hybrid fucking sucked, he didn’t want to think about that. 

Then, his eyes stumbled upon a picture of him, Quackity, and a tiny,  _ tiny  _ baby Tubbo. When you look at the picture more, you could tell Schlatt had been crying non stop- he looked so tired and worn down. Tubbo looked to be just a few weeks old at that time. Quackity looked tired too, as he had his hand on Schlatt’s shoulder, seemingly holding him steady. They both had weak smiles on their faces, and Tubbo’s mouth was wide open- the child was crying. Schlatt could almost hear it just by  _ looking  _ at the photo. He laughed inwardly, thinking about how much he and Quackity looked like tired dads, regretting having a child. They looked so… married. It was so funny to Schlatt, but he couldn’t have been more lucky to have a pal like Quackity. He was always there, even when the first few months were absolute hell. And here he was, still there. Schlatt’s eyes burnt thinking about it. He watched the picture for a little while more, expecting it to start moving and play out the scenario for him, even though he knows exactly what happened. 

He was pulled from his thoughts as a small presence tugged at his jeans. He looked down and saw the same face that was just crying in the photo- his baby. 

“I have food?” Tubbo asked, his hand on his stomach as he looked up at Schlatt. 

“Oh, uh, sure kid. Cmon,” Schlatt picked the boy up and took a breath- he wasn’t expecting to feel so much damn emotion at this old house. 

The rest of the day and night were rather peaceful- the three men and the toddler went out to play on the old tire swing still attached to the big tree in the lawn; yes, even the men. They all took turns swinging and pushing each other, and Tubbo had one hell of a time as well, riding in someone’s lap no matter who it was. 

Miss Mom did in fact make a pie, and they enjoyed that before dinner. Christmas Eve dinner at Quackity’s mom’s house was always takeout, because she always said that it was “Christmas dinner that mattered.” No one ever argued with her. 

Around 7, Karl went upstairs to put Tubbo to bed when they discovered the toddler to be passed out among a box of candy. That just left Quackity and Schlatt downstairs. 

“You know, in this exact spot, I used to obliterate your ass in Mario Kart.” Schlatt spoke, filling the air with his voice, as Rudolph was speaking quietly on TV. 

“Oh sure, you mean  _ I  _ used to obliterate  _ you?  _ We all know I was the best at Mario Kart.” Quackity gave Schlatt a smack on the shoulder.

The argument went on for a while before Schlatt finally said, “You know what? Put in the game. I’m sure it’s still there. Go on, and I’ll show you.”

… Quackity did in fact win that round. And the next, and the next. 

But that wasn’t what kept Schlatt up that night.

The man didn’t even know how, but at 2 in the morning, he found himself in the hallway of the top floor. He left Tubbo on the mattress, sound asleep, and moved as quietly as possible so as to not wake up his friend. 

He had a small flashlight with him that he found lying around Quackity’s room- exactly where he had put it the last time he was there, which was in  _ fucking high school.  _ It was almost as if the older woman was afraid to touch anything, scared to move anything from its place. 

He was wordlessly looking at the pictures on the wall. Among these pictures of Quackity were pictures of  _ him,  _ and even some of  _ him and Tubbo.  _ Did Quackity send his mom pictures of them? He must have, because Schlatt didn’t take any of these pictures, and he definitely didn’t order to have them printed out and framed. 

Either way, a smile rose to the man’s face. This woman, who wasn’t even his real mom, had pictures of him on her wall. There were pictures of him and Quackity from high school, too. Sure, there were a few in Quackity’s room, mostly polaroids, but the hallway held most of them. His eyes scanned over them in a timely manner, allowing himself to think back to the memories inside each photograph. 

Many included Wilbur, considering he and Quackity had met him in sophmore year. He was a really cool guy, always good with talking his way out of things. Once he and Schlatt had been pulled over for illegal driving (neither of them had their license yet), and Wilbur had  _ talked them out of the fucking ticket,  _ and even got the cops to  _ apologize.  _ Schlatt still wanted to know what the boy had said. 

He and Quackity looked so  _ young.  _ Schlatt didn’t have bags under his eyes, and his horns were just curled a little bit, but more than you would expect a ram-hybrid’s to at that age. He was tall and confident, standing next to a Quackity who was giving a goofy thumbs-up to the camera. Another picture held him, Quackity and Wilbur, and they looked to be a dogpile. They were all laughing loudly, it seemed, and Quackity was squashed on the bottom of them, face pressed against the grass of the outside lawn. They were all so… happy. Relatively carefree, compared to now. 

He jumped slightly as a hand rested on his shoulder. He turned to see Alex, who was looking at him in concern.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

Schlatt then felt the wetness on his face. When had he started crying? He opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was,

_ “I ruined your fucking life.” _

Quackity pulled him into a hug, shaking his head and saying “no” as quietly as he could, over and over again. Schlatt trembled, holding onto Quackity like he would just disappear out of thin air, but Quackity held onto him with the same force. 

Quackity said nothing; nothing really had to be said. Everything was obvious with the way Quackity remained silent. The fact that he was even  _ there  _ said everything Schlatt needed to know.

“You want a hot pocket?” Quackity asked quietly after Schlatt had stopped shaking. The man nodded. 

  
  


Somehow Schlatt had fallen back to sleep next to his son, and woke up to see that Tubbo wasn’t even there anymore, but rather looking over him, patting on his face.

“Santa’s here! Santa’s here!” The toddler exclaimed, patting his hands on Schlatt’s chest. 

“What the hell are you talking about? It’s-” Schlatt glanced at his watch. “8 in the morning.”

Tubbo didn’t listen, instead he just repeated “Santa’s here!” while he jumped around on the mattress. Schlatt saw Quackity sit up in his bed out of the corner of his eye. 

“What… what?” Quackity rubbed his eyes, and Tubbo turned to him.

“Cmon, cmon!” Tubbo squealed, and he ran out the door, and they heard the pitter patter of his feet as he ran down the hardwood stairs. Quackity and Schlatt shared a look before they got up and followed the footsteps downstairs. 

Sure enough, there was Santa, standing in the living room, giving hardy “ho ho ho”s. Well… it was just Karl in a red suit and a beard. 

“K-”

“Ho ho  _ ho!”  _ Karl practically hissed at the men at the bottom of the stairs. “It’s me!  _ Santa!” _

Quackity and Schlatt looked at each other, their eyebrows raised. 

“Uh, what… what’s going on then,  _ Santa?”  _ Quackity asked, turning back to Kar- sorry, Santa. Tubbo was jumping up and down, making grabby hands at the man.

“Well, since Tubbo was such a good boy this year, I decided to pay him a visit!” Santa gave Tubbo a pat, and Tubbo stuck onto his leg, looking like he wasn’t planning on letting go anytime soon. 

Schlatt looked underneath the big tree, and there they were- a shit ton of presents, all of which were marked with names, most being for Tubbo. Schlatt shook his head- when did- who- what? 

“You think some of those are for you? I’m sure there’s at least one,” Quackity muttered, giving Schlatt a nudge. 

“Did you do this?” He asked, turning back to Quackity.

“Uh, well, I guess we all kinda did. What do you think Karl and my mom were talking about outside?” Quackity shrugged, smiling a bit. “Just go open presents with your kid.”

Schlatt’s eyes glossed over, but he shook the tears away. He wouldn’t cry again, what the hell.

“Hey buddy, you see any with your name on them?” Schlatt asked, walking over to Tubbo who was sitting next to the tree. Quackity’s mom was setting up a camera to take pictures with, Schlatt noted.

“Uh huh! This one!” Tubbo held up a small box. 

“Open it.” 

Tubbo nodded, and didn’t hesitate to tear the wrapping paper off. This process was repeated quite a few times; Tubbo opened some blankets, pillows, pretty posters that he didn’t quite understand but he still said “ooh” to, and some outfits. 

After Tubbo opened all his presents, Karl had gone upstairs to change, and Quackity was bent underneath the Christmas tree. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Schlatt asked, looking at Quackity; Tubbo was bouncing in his lap, rubbing a blanket that he got on his face. 

“We missed three.” Quackity held up three boxes that were the same size. “They’re addressed to me, you and Karl.”

Schlatt saw Miss Mom smile. 

“Uh, then let’s open them.”

“WAIT!” They heard Karl shout from upstairs. The man came running down the stairs, almost tripping over himself, and he skidded to a seat near the tree on the carpet. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Schlatt rolled his eyes and took the box that Quackity handed him. When he opened it, a memory opened back up in his brain.

_ Oh.  _

Looking around at the other men, he saw that they had the same exact gift-

An ugly Christmas sweater, made by Quackity’s mom.

“Oh, mom, cmon! We still do this?” Quackity whined, holding up the monstrosity.

“How did she know my size…” Karl spoke quietly, rubbing at the fabric.

Miss Mom told them all to stop being babies and go put them on. None of them even thought to argue, they just went upstairs to don the sweaters. They came back down, and Miss Mom stood in front of the tree, pointing to where they all needed to stand. Schlatt grabbed Tubbo and held him, and once the timer on the camera was set, they all posed with smiles, and then boom. Another hallway picture that would haunt all the boys for the rest of their lives, because they knew that Quackity’s mom would never take it down. 

Of course, as always, Christmas dinner was immaculate. They all helped cook, and Quackity’s mom even showed them new techniques she had picked up recently. It was a lot of fun- baking cookies, pies, just good in general. Tubbo even got to shape some cookies. Sure, they were blobs that he tried to pass off as dragons, but no one said anything.

After dinner, they all sat in the living room and watched Christmas movies. For the first time in a while, Schlatt felt at home. Sure, sometimes his home felt like home, but being back at the house he practically grew up in, the house he became a man in, it really made him appreciate the people in his life more. Maybe he would find a way to get in touch with Wilbur again, who knows? Either way, this Christmas was a rather great one he thought, as his toddler was sleeping against him. 

Things were gonna be okay. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! <3 any suggestions/requests for my next work? leave them in the comments!


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